JANUARY 2017

Cameron Smith 1/01/--Cathy Crawford 1/02/--Stephanie MacDonald 1/03/--Kathy Trowbridge 1/04/--Andrew Howard 1/06/--Paul Hugo 1/08/--Zachary Johnson 1/10/00John Howard 1/10/--Sheri McHenry 1/10/--Scott Snyder 1/11/--Kim Wentovich 1/16/--Richard Howard 1/17/--Lee Bonhamer 1/23/--Matthew Brown 1/24/02Jennifer Wentovich 1/28/--"Bud" Marvin 1/29/--Susan Fenton 1/31

Wyalusing Presbyterian Church79 Church StreetPO Box 25Wyalusing PA 18853return service requested

TYLER PAUL PETLOCKsson of Sarah & Adam Petlock born December 1, 2016. Proud Grandparents are Lynn & John Petlock and Peg and Frank Tyler and Great-grandmother Edie Ermisch

Melissa & Jason Nowland 1/02/94

A Prayer for a Wintry Morning: On this winter morning, Jesus, help each of us feel the warmth of your love and share it with others

Two New Year’s Resolutions:“Resolution One:

I will live for God.Resolution Two:

If no one else does, I still will.” —Jonathan Edwards

JANUARY 2017

the

A prayer of thanksgiving:“New year, new day and, always,

New life in Christ. Thank you, Lord!”

NEW OFFICERS for the CLASS OF 2019New church officers were nominated and unanimously elected at the congregational meeting on December 11, 2016. These Elders and Deacons will be ordained and installed during the worship service on Sunday, January 15, 2017.

ELDERS:George Hugo – 1st term (3 years term)Debbie Minturn - 2nd term (3 year term)Amy Soper – 1st term (3 year term)Mike Jensen – to complete 1year term

DEACONS:Marilyn Ross 1st term (3 year term)Cari McCarty 1st term (1 year student term) (open) (3 year term)

TRUSTEE: Linda Neiley Class of 2018

CLERK OF SESSION: Lynn Petlock

NOMINATING COMMITTEE The Nominating Committee consists of Deacons and Elders whose terms are up in the current year. If you would like to serve on the Nominating Committee for next year (nominating officers for the class of 2020) as a Member-at –Large, please contact Barry Ballard or Lynn Petlock (Clerk of Session).

MISSION GIVING! Mission Team: Elders Pam Quentin & Deb Minturn

Throughout the year WPC supports local charities: Towanda Area Christian

Outreach, Hezekiah’s Hands, , Helping Hands, Endless Mountains Pregnancy Care Center, Grace Connection;

The FRONT PORCH is the monthly newsletter of Wyalusing Presbyterian Church located at 179 Church Street in the heart of Wyalusing Pennsylvania. The vision of Wyalusing Presbyterian Church is to nurture faith in Jesus Christ, and through that faith, reach out to all people in Christian love. Phone: 570-746-3333 E-mail: wpchurch@ptd.net web site: www.wyalusingpc.org

+ Christian Symbol +

Three Chests Sometimes called “three arks,”

this image represents the gifts the Magi brought to the child Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Because Scripture lists three gifts, the legend arose that there were three wise men. But the biblical account doesn’t say how many travelers visited the Holy Family.

Rev. Cameron Smith, the Howard family and the Wyalusing Youth Group. The first Sunday of each month we leave the HUNGER BASKET at the Greeters table in the front hall – all donations in the basket go to Towanda Area Christian Outreach (TACO) which helps needy people in Bradford County including many in our school district.

The Noisy can collections for January will be donated to Helping Hands Food Pantry.

The shopping cart collections will be boxed Mac and Cheese.

Thank you to all who continue to support our outreach programs with the many generous donations.

Christmas Joy Special Offering was collected on Sunday, December 18 and 25.

The Mission Team.

January 6, 2017

As the wise men followed the star to you, Jesus, may I follow your Word and encounter

you in my life. Amen.

Baptism of the LordJanuary 8, 2017

A NEW VIEW

GREAT EXPLOITSColorado pastor Mike Paulison, who’s made many mission trips to Haiti to build and maintain an orphanage, shares about prayer’s power:

“On one trip, we were bringing large items that could’ve been problematic, because in Haiti customs officials often make up their own rules. We urged our prayer-support team back home to be praying as we went through customs. But when a storm delayed our flight from Miami for two hours, the schedule was off. We encouraged one another, saying at least prayers had been lifted. Later, on the plane to Haiti, I noticed I’d made a mistake on the schedule. It was off by exactly two hours. The supporters were actually praying the very moment we landed in Port-au-Prince!

“In line at customs, we watched officials opening luggage. But by the time we got to the front, the inspectors were gone, and we were allowed to walk into the country. We experienced firsthand the

WASHED CLEANYour morning shower can do more than cleanse your body. Retired pastor Norman Neaves takes time to remember his baptism daily. “As the water is pouring down on me, I reach up and get water all over my hand. Then I close my eyes and make the sign of the cross on my forehead. ‘I have been baptized in Christ,’ I say to myself quietly. ‘This day belongs to him. I am called to be Jesus’ representative whatever I am doing and wherever I might go. Give me the grace, Lord, to represent you well and with integrity.’”

The new year is an opportunity to sort out the useless tasks and plan for the important; to review the failures and resolve to be successful; to take an inventory of causes and pledge life to purpose and service. These being done, the new will truly be new, different and better. —C. Neil Strait

TAKING A STANDCowardice asks the question: Is it safe? Expediency asks the question: Is it politic? Vanity asks the question: Is it popular? But conscience asks the question: Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular — but one must take it simply because it is right.  —Martin Luther King Jr.

$$$$$ Apportionment for 2017 The current roles show Wyalusing

Presbyterian Church with 193 active members.

The cost of apportionment this year will be $31.00 per member. 

WPC receives a discount if we pay weekly so the sooner the better!  We thank you for paying your apportionment which supports the day to day work of PC(USA) and our own Presbytery of Lackawanna.

WPC’s total for 2017 is $5983.00

Welcome Miss Rie Tanno visiting from Japan as a foreign exchange student, living with the White family.  We are so happy to welcome her to WPC.

HUMOR FOR THE HARD TIMESAn older choir member in our church mentioned that when he died, he just wanted to be cremated.‘I don’t want anything fancy, like an urn,’ he said. ‘I told my wife to just simply put my ashes in a coffee can and put the can in the trunk of her car. That way, when she gets stuck in the winter snow, I’ll still be able to help her.’”

—via Rev. Barbara BartholomewGrace Lutheran Church, Austintown, OH

A pastor went home after church, discovered that she had locked herself out of her house, and realized that she had

January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31TUESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY Romans Study:  The Tuesday night Bible Study began exploring the book of Romans on Tuesday, November 22, at 6:30 PM.  and will resume this study on January 3, 2017. Contact Barry if you are interested in joining this study group so he can catch you up on

where the study is this month.  January 20, 2017

Horizons Bible StudyWho Is Jesus? What a Difference a Lens Makes’ by Judy Yates Siker [A New Testament scholar and an ordained teaching

elder in the PC (USA)] .

The fourth lesson considers John 9. In her Horizons magazine column for this lesson Katie Mulligan, an ordained pastor in the PC(USA) and a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary working with youth and families in and around Trenton NJ, titles it “The Flesh and the Spirit, Whole” and asks these questions for us to ponder: 1. “Is there a split for you between body and spirit? If so, where did it begin? 2. How does your understanding of body and spirit shape your understanding of who Jesus is? 3. What is the healing (of spirit and/or body) that Jesus is calling you to?

Rosalind Banbury commenting on lesson 4 titles her Presbyterian Outlook column “ Sight and Insight” and observes: “Jesus as the light of the world challenges, and sometimes shatters, our assumptions. God then gets larger, brighter, riskier and more mysterious. 1. How have you grown in insight and clarity about Jesus? 2. How have you experienced Jesus as a “dangerous, but healing light”?

The study group will January 20 at the home of Margaret Dabback on Second St at 10:30 a.m.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, 2017

IGNITE!It is with Christians as with burning

coals. If these are scattered apart, one after the other, they are easily extinguished. But, when collected together, the fire of one preserves that of the other, and the glowing coals often ignite others that lie near. —August Francke

UNDAUNTEDThe year just past was wracked with

violence, racism and political rancor. We long to fix these problems, but how? We may feel as frustrated as the church board member who spouted, “We’ve already tried prayer. It didn’t work!”

Those words might resonate today, yet things aren’t always what they seem. We can’t see God behind the scenes crafting a new reality, but Scripture promises it. And though our prayers won’t undo earthly death, they surround the grieving with strength and love. We can’t “solve” sin, but our prayers can bring communities together and spur us to look out for one another.

The Jewish Talmud states, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” In this new year, may we be undaunted in doing what we can. It might not seem like much, but things aren’t always what they seem.

Lord, I lay before you everything that concerns me today.

Free me to rest in your embrace. Amen.

January has become a month of high administration at WPC. We have 2 Session meetings. The Deacons and Trustees meet to start off the year. We ordain and install newly elected elders, deacons, and trustees. Annual reports are due, giving us a snapshot of what God did through our mission and ministry in the last year. We finish the month with the Annual Church and Corporate meetings (on January 29 this year). Finally, the church leaders prepare for an early February planning meeting to make sure the new year’s activities are on the calendar, and everyone has a little bit clearer picture of their roles and responsibilities. These meetings and reports make January an important and packed month around the church.

Some of us thrive during these highly administrative seasons. Organizational structure, charts and graphs, reports and feedback, and improvements in communication are the oil that keeps the machine running smoothly. Some people are truly gifted and talented administrators. If that is you, then January is your big month at WPC.

Others thrive on different kinds activities. Some of us are gifted at teaching, serving, encouraging, leading in worship, and acts of great faith. Still others are very intuitive, and readily jump to the task at hand regardless of what it is.

One lesson that our administrators teach us is that in an organization—a church or anything else—everyone has something to contribute. Wise administration helps make use of everyone in the organization according to their gifts and strengths. Sometimes, it takes a wise administrator to see gifts in a person when the person does not see those gifts within themselves. Placing a person in the right position can bring out their gifts for mission and ministry. On the other hand, placing a person in a position to which they are not suited can lead to frustration. Any organization—especially a church—needs wise and discerning administrators.

There are two more important observations about the organization and administration of the church. First, as Paul teaches in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4:1-11 the church functions as a body—the Body of Christ. Some parts of the Body are more prominent, and some work more internally. Yet all parts

must work together so that the Body properly functions. That means in the church family, we all have a part to play, and a job that we can do. When we are all doing what we are meant to do, we not only find satisfaction in

that job, the whole church engages in mission and ministry as it should, and grows in spiritual maturity.

Second, the most important ingredient in the organizational relationships within a church is LOVE. Paul talks about this in both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 13. We do the work of the church because of our love for God and for one another. Love is at the heart of our ministry with each other. Love is the motivation for mission—reaching outside of the church family to help in our community and spread the gospel in word & deed. Paul teaches that without love, none of our gifts (even administration) is worth anything.

So as we head into another year of mission and ministry at WPC, do some praying. Pray for the administration that is necessary for the church family in January and throughout the year. Pray for the Session, Deacons, and Trustees. Pray for your pastor, administrative assistant, music director (those last two are the same person), and sexton. Additionally, pray that God will show you what your gifts are, and that God will help you apply your gifts to the Body of Christ here in Wyalusing.

In praying and applying your spiritual gifts, WPC can be the Body of Christ, ministering to our members and friends, and reaching out to others with the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

LOOKING AHEAD There will be a Leadership Planning

Meeting on Sunday, February 12, immediately following worship. Lunch will be provided. All leaders, committee members, and Sunday school teachers are encouraged to attend.

Linda Neiley is offering to teach CPR and/or First Aid at the church for our members as well as community folks. The dates she proposed are Feb. 6th and Feb. 8th.  In order to arrange these classes, she needs at least 5 people (min. age of 8 yrs) to commit on a date.   Please send Linda a note (lneiley54@gmail.com) or speak with her this week or Sunday.

Boy Scout Sunday 2/5/17

Girl scout Sunday 3/12/17

“Laughter is the sun that drives winterfrom the human face.” —Victor Hugo

AROUND WPC, PRESBYTERY & BEYOND: Words from our own SUSAN KILMER for the Camp Committee for Camp Lackawanna: “Hi, my name is Susan Kilmer and I am on the

Camp Committee for Camp Lackawanna. I am contacting you to see if you would be interested in having someone come and promote camp to your kids/congregation sometime January - March. It may be me or someone else (camp director, staff member, former camper). We can talk to your Sunday School, do a children's message, and/or a sermon to the entire congregation about the importance of camp. The future of our Presbytery lies in the hands of our youth, and summer camp is a proven way to bring children to have Jesus in their hearts. Please respond whether you would like someone to come or not so that I know that you have received this. Thank you so much for taking the time to think and pray about this amazing opportunity we are offering to the youth of our Presbytery.”

THE YOUTH GROUP NEWS ! The Wyalusing Youth Group continues to meet weekly at 5:00 at WPC. The group is open to any 7th-12th Grade

Students in the community. We typically gather for some fun food, fun games, and a lesson. We do some singing, too, or at least make a joyful noise to the Lord.

Sometimes we do special events like go to movies or have parties instead of the regular meeting. Whatever we are doing, we have a great time in a safe environment.

Karen and Barry Ballard co-lead along with Heather and Scott McAllister from the Wyalusing United Methodist Church. Keep up with the latest Youth Group information on the Wyalusing Youth Group Facebook page, where we post what is going on each week.

“Be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, tolerant of the weak, because some day in your

life you will be all of these.”

‒George Washington Carver

…to Shannon Lord & Toni McCarty for delivering our gifts to the folks at the Church of the Covenant in Spring

BIBLE QUIZ In Matthew 13, to what does Jesus compare the kingdom of heaven?

A. A farmer sowing seedB. A mustard seedC. YeastD. Hidden treasureE. A merchant who finds a pearl F. A fishing netG. All of the above

GOD’S PROMISED SPRINGLike winter, some seasons of our faith journey feel cold, barren, devoid of life. Will renewal ever come? Will spring flourish again in our heart? Yet the world bears witness to God’s power to bring new life where all seems lost.In the early 1990s, the St. Louis neighborhood of South City deteriorated sharply due to a stagnant economy, population decline and crime. Then Bosnian refugees started settling there. Thousands of people renovated abandoned houses and other buildings; they started businesses and brought skilled labor back to the neighborhood. As the area returned to life, the refugees experienced renewal, too — hope in place of discouragement, opportunities where none had existed, peace instead of war, life replacing death.When our faith is challenged by despair, lost dreams or an uncertain future — when

Lake, North Carolina and the Hallsville Presbyterian Church in Beulaville, North Carolina.  

A SPECIAL THANKS* to our retiring church offices:Elder Pan Quentin for her 6 years of dedicated work as co-team leader of the Mission Team1, Deacons Jay Ross, Scott Eberlin and Mary Eberlin,And Trustee Marilyn Ross

* If there is someone you would like to recognize for their volunteer work around the church – those “silent church mice” - who see a need and just take care of it with no fanfare – please be sure to mention it to Diana.

.…A BIG THANK YOU for all our special music during December. On the 11th the Sunday School children gave us such a joyful time with their wonderful enthusiasm and singing! Then on the 18th Women of the Church (Pat Brown, Pat Hoffman, Shannon Lord,Hyonda McCarty, Lynn Petlock and Kathy Trowbridge ) gave us a new advent song “Love Has Come” – such sweet voices. The congregation sang the songs of the season during Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas morning special music was provided by Wesley Ballard, Shannon Lord, and Katherine White with Diana Black for an offertory duet. We all helped set up the message for the day joining in to sing Diana’s new piece “The Christmas Pageant”.

Reminder: Please let Diana or Amy Eberlin (our Worship Team leader) know if you have something special to share – your special talent ,your favorite hymns or your favorite musician.

…and to all the volunteers who made the impromptu Christmas Pageant such a success! What a happy, jolly way to celebrate the Lord’s birthday!

…from TACO - Towanda Area Christian Outreach Food Pantry: letters of thanks for food donations on October 17, October 24, November 14,November 21, and December 5, 2016 . These letters were sent in thanks for our support with wishes for a Merry Christmas from the board of directors. (see the Siglaer Hall bulletin board)

…to all our lay readers in November & December: Lisa & McKenna Mapes, Marilyn Ross, Pat Brown, Lorna Snyder, Matisyn Lord, ,Noah & Liz Kilmer, Callen & Kiley Pickett and Cari McCarty

... to Deb Minturn and all the WPC Bell Ringers who assisted the Salvation Army with manning the giving bucket at Connie’s Supermarket on those chilly days of December 8 – 10, 2016!!

WORDS TO START THE NEW YEARCarry a heart that never hates, a smile that never fades, and a touch that never hurts.” ‒Author unknown

“Write a new plan; turn a new page; follow a new direction; watch a new program; be a new person; radiate a new enthusiasm.” ‒William Arthur Ward

“Today give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine they see all day.” ‒via George Goldtrap Ormond-by-the-Sea, FL

“A good sense of humor will get you everywhere.” ‒Josh Bowman

“Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it; that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” ‒Dale Carnegie

“A hug is like a boomerang – you get it right back. A hug is the best gift anyone can get.” ‒via Bobbe Lyon Maitland, FL

“And Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I say to you... whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.’ ” ‒Matthew 21:22

Wyalusing Presbyterian Church – Thank you so much for the $88 donation. We were able to feed 80 families in our local community with that.. We are blessed to be a blessing, Danielle & Peg

To Our Church Family,Thank you so much for welcoming our son, Tyler, into your lives with open arms and hearts. He is very lucky to have so many wonderful people to support and guide him as he grows. We are so blessed to have you all!

Thank you,Adam & Sara Petlock

Lessons from a snowmanIt’s okay to wear white well after Labor Day. Simply hanging out in your front yard can be

fun. Accessories don’t have to be fancy or expensive. We’re all made mostly of water. You know you’ve “arrived” when a song is written about you. So what if you’re a little bottom-heavy? Don’t get too much sun. Sweating too much can be disastrous!

The Wise May Bring Their Learning”The wise may bring their learning, the rich may bring their wealth,And some may bring their greatness, and some bring strength and health;We, too, would bring our treasures to offer to the King;We have no wealth or learning; what shall we children bring?We’ll bring him hearts that love him; we’ll bring him thankful praise,And young souls meekly striving to walk in holy ways;And these shall be the treasures we offer to the King,And these are gifts that even the poorest child may bring.We’ll bring the little duties we have to do each day;We’ll try our best to please him, at home, at school, at play;And better are these treasures to offer to our King;Than richest gifts without them — yet these a child may bring.

Wyalusing Presbyterian Church – Thank you so much for the $88 donation. We were able to feed 80 families in our local community with that.. We are blessed to be a blessing, Danielle & Peg

—Anonymous